Free Fallin'

My internship has been really busy these past few days.  I've been researching organizations in the UK, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales that specialize in working with disadvantaged youth ("seldom heard young people").  I created a spreadsheet with over 150 organizations along with their contact information and e-mails.  Cathy is conducting a literature review on the subject area and wanted to reach out to all of the organizations in those locations in an effort to seek resources for her research project.  The process was tricky because a lot of the websites don't publicize their e-mails and only supply an online form that can be used to write comments through the site.  Cathy requested that I find the direct e-mail of the organization because they'd be more likely to respond that way- and also told me that if I found the e-mail of an actual person in the organization that worked in policy/research/participation/advocacy that he or she would also be more likely to respond since it would be a more personalized approach. 

So... I spent the past few days searching umbrella organizations that specialize in helping disadvantaged youth, going on their sites to find their partnerships and members to expand the list, searching for their e-mails on Google if they weren't listed on the actual site or if the staff information wasn't available, and finally generating an exhausting list of contacts.  Then I had to e-mail all of them requesting information for the project, and Cathy gave me a template to copy and paste into her e-mail account.  I'm an expert at copying and pasting now, that's for sure.  I grouped all of the general e-mails together where I couldn't find a specific member of staff into one e-mail and blind copied the organizations.  However, for every organization that I was able to find a particular person to help with the research, I had to personalize the subject line with their name (so I couldn't use the BCC feature).  I probably wrote about 100 e-mails.  The task was rather tedious, but I think that the process will be worth it in the end once the responses start coming in and Cathy will be able to use the resources and suggestions they send her for her literature review.  I also love all of my co-workers, which makes some of the boring work more manageable since I'm in a great work environment with a friendly, outgoing, and younger crowd.

Speaking of the people I work with, Cathy looks exactly like Sarah Jessica Parker, and I just couldn't hold it in anymore... I had to tell her!  So after she gave me directions for my assignment, I blurted out her celebrity look-a-like.  She laughed and said she's gotten that a lot.  (I'm going to see if I can take a picture with her and post it on here... I have to figure out a way to ask her so it's not awkward or creepy but I'll try).  Here's the best part.  She goes, "I should show you my shoes then," and whips out these adorable velvet high wedges from TopShop that she had just purchased online.  Totally a pair of heels Carrie Bradshaw would rock on Sex and the City; I just pictured them in her closet of shoes.  I think they must be long lost identical twins or something.

That's enough about work for now.  In terms of my nights, Monday I went to the Comet (same old), but yesterday night we switched it up and went to Dicey's for 2 Euro night!  Every Tuesday, every kind of pint and all the Jagerbombs are 2 Euros (first time I tried those, not bad!)  The prices are so cheap for Dublin considering pints are usually more than double that price.  When I walked in I couldn't believe how packed the place was.  There was barely any room to move; there were a ton of people from a diverse variety of backgrounds including an "after work" crowd, what seemed like all the EUSA kids from my program (there was a birthday in our program so it was extra packed with EUSA students celebrating), locals, Americans, and foreigners.  Definitely the place to be on a Tuesday night.  I loved it because there were about seven bar stations so you never had to wait too long to get a drink, and there was also a huge outdoor area to get some fresh air and move around (luckily it didn't rain that night).  There was even a great band playing live music, so we danced the entire night (my title = my favorite song they sang).  My ears were still buzzing from the noise the next day.

Even though I've had some unexciting tasks at my internship lately, I'm still really happy to be working at the CSER because I feel so comfortable with everyone in the office.  I was really nervous that I wouldn't fit in with them since we're from different places, but everyone has gone out of their way to make me feel at home.  Whenever anyone makes tea, they offer me a cup.  Whenever I get to the office, they ask me about what I did the previous night. (I thought it was really funny actually when I was telling them about Dicey's because they didn't even know about two Euro night and couldn't believe how good of a deal it was.  I was shocked that I was the person to tell them something they didn't know when I've been so used to being on the receiving end.)  Finally, whenever I'm asked what my weekend plans are, they give me suggestions for places to go.  Siobhan even sent me a long e-mail listing areas that I should visit in Galway when I went last weekend because she travels there often.  She also mentioned going to a pub after work one of these days with everyone in the office, which I'm really looking forward to. 

This weekend I'm staying in Dublin to check out the sights around here (including the Leprechaun Museum! Such a tourist trap but I'm dying to go) and do some shopping on Grafton street.  Sunday we're going to the hurling match at Croke Park, the heart of Irish sporting life for over 100 years.  I'm really excited to explore my surroundings here; sometimes I get so caught up in wanting to travel on the weekends that I forget that Dublin itself has a ton of great attractions that I wouldn't want to miss.  It'll be good to have a somewhat more relaxing weekend too without having to worry about catching a bus on time or packing or rushing from place to place.  I'll post pictures from my weekend soon, but for now here's a picture of the view from my office on a sunny day:

Stay tuned!